By Jason Cruz
Northwest Asia Weekly
On Sunday, August 8, 2021, during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, people gathered near the National Stadium watched the fireworks display. (AP Photo/Kantaro Komiya)
The Tokyo Olympics was named “2020”, but it was held in mid-2021 after being interrupted by the coronavirus for a year, and ended smoothly on the night of August 8 in the COVID-19 empty stadium.
The cheerful closing ceremony with the theme of “the world we share”-an optimistic but ironic concept in this human moment-showed everything from stunt bikes to complex light shows, as it tried to be tense After that, convey a kind of “celebration and liberation atmosphere” for the athletes for two weeks.
The highlight…
Sunisa “Suni” Lee shines
Olympian Sunisa Lee (middle), her mother Yeev Thoj (left) and sister Shyenne Lee wave from a Sao Paulo fire truck. Fans cheer for her on the Parade Route of the White Bear Avenue in Sao Paulo on Sunday, August 8, 2021 Paul, Minnesota Minnesota held a parade in the St. Paul neighborhood of the East Side where she grew up to celebrate Lee’s Olympic victory. Li is the first American Hmong woman to win the Olympic gymnastics all-around champion and the first Asian woman. (Jerry Holt/Star Tribune via The Associated Press)
Simone Biles focuses on her mental health, so she cannot participate in the US gymnastics team. She withdrew from the team competition, and all subjects except a single subject dealt a blow to the United States. However, although Byers was eliminated, it made another person shine. Enter teammate Suni Lee. The Hmong American won the gold medal in the all-around competition, then the silver medal in the vault, and the bronze medal in the uneven bars, shocking the world.
The 18-year-old native of St. Paul, Minnesota became the first Asian American woman to win a gold medal in gymnastics and the first Hmong American to win a medal at the Summer Olympics. Sao Paulo held a parade for Lee on August 8.
Li is a gymnast who was a member of the 2016 Olympic team and the 2019 World Championship team. However, she has never won a personal medal in an Olympic competition, let alone an all-around gold medal.
Li has experienced some personal tragedies. In August 2019, her father fell from a tree while helping a friend, causing him to be paralyzed from the waist down. In 2020, Li’s aunt and uncle died of COVID-19.
Philippines finally wins gold
Hidilyn Diaz of the Philippines celebrated her setting a new world record and winning the gold medal in the women’s 55kg weightlifting competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan on Monday, July 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz won the first gold medal for the Philippines and made history. In 1924, the country sent its first Olympic delegation to Paris, but it never had a chance to hear the national anthem. When Diaz, now 30, who served in the Philippine Air Force, defeated China’s Liao Qiuyun by a narrow margin to take the top spot, everything changed.
Diaz won a silver medal in weightlifting at the 2016 Rio Olympics (she was the first woman in the Philippines to win a gold medal), and many supporters consider her to be the best hope for a gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics. She has participated in four Olympic Games in total, and her first appearance was in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Diaz started using self-made dumbbells to lift weights when he was young. At the age of 11, she got a barbell to train after a local weightlifting competition. She said she practiced so hard that she wore it out because of overuse and the barbell broke. This ingenuity helped her during the pandemic because she had to use temporary weightlifting when many gyms were closed.
Diaz spent her time on winning the gold medal, focusing on training, and was unable to see her mother or father for months.
The Philippine gold medalist has an asterisk because Arianne Cerdena won the gold medal in the bowling competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics. However, her gold medal is not considered bowling as a model sport. Therefore, Diaz’s victory enabled the Philippines to officially win the gold medal.
Petesio wins silver medal for the Philippines
In the women’s lightweight 60 kg boxing final at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, on Tuesday, August 3, 2021, Nesthy Petecio of the Philippines won after losing to Sena Irie of Japan. silver medal. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Nessi Petsio made history and became the first Filipino female boxer to bring home a boxing medal. The 29-year-old player won a silver medal after losing to Japanese player Sena Ire.
It can be said that the battle for the gold medal is fierce, and many supporters believe that she should defeat Al. This is the country’s first boxing medal since Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco won the silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in 1996.
After the battle, Petecio dedicated her medal to the LGBTQ community.
The Philippines will win two more medals in the boxing match in Tokyo, as the other two Filipino boxers have reached the semi-finals.
Adopted Chinese swimmer wins gold medal for Canada
Canada’s Margaret McNeill (right) reacts after winning the women’s 100m butterfly final, Sarah Sjoestroem of Sweden watching Monday, July 26, 2021 The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Maggie MacNeil won the 100m butterfly swimming championship and won the gold medal for Canada.
McNeill was adopted by Canadian parents after being abandoned when he was a few months old. This native from London, Ontario started swimming at the age of 2 and participated in swimming pool competitions at the age of 8.
McNeill won the silver medal in the 4×100 freestyle and the bronze medal in the 4×100 medley.
She defeated her favorite Chinese player Zhang Yufei and won the gold medal in the butterfly stroke. McNeill’s victory was considered an upset.
McNeill continued to swim for the University of Michigan, where she broke the NCAA 100-yard butterfly record.
Former Doug won the bronze medal, leading the British Open championship
On Sunday, August 1, 2021, at the 2020 Summer Olympics Men’s Golf Tournament at the Kawagoe Kasumigaseki Country Club in Japan, Taiwan’s CT Pan was splashed after winning the bronze medal (AP Photo/Matt York)
Former University of Washington golfer CT Pan defeated five others in the playoffs to finish third and won the golf bronze medal. Mr. Pan, representing Chinese Taipei, awarded the country the fourth bronze medal and the eighth overall medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
It is worth noting that Pan defeated Colin Senchuan in the playoffs to win the bronze medal. Morikawa, who won the British Open earlier this month, could not match Pan’s par in the fourth extra hole that decided the tiebreaker.
Considering Pan’s wife Michelle is his golf boy, this victory is even more special.
From 2011 to 2015, Pan played college golf at the University of Washington. He currently participates in the PGA Tour.
12-year-old skateboarder won the silver medal
Kokona Hiraki of Japan participated in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games Women’s Park Skateboard Practice held in Tokyo, Japan on Monday, August 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Kokona “Coconut” Hiraki won a silver medal in the Tokyo Women’s Park event, becoming the youngest Japanese athlete to win a medal and participate in the Summer Olympics in record.
The women’s park skateboarding competition was won by 19-year-old Sakura Yosuzumi. It is worth noting that the 13-year-old Sky Brown won the bronze medal. Brown grew up in Japan and lives in California, but competes for Britain in Tokyo.
The park game allows skateboarders to perform a lot of skills in a time span that looks like an empty outdoor swimming pool.
Hiraki is from Kutchan, Japan, and started skateboarding at the age of 5. Her mother is a fan of the sport and she influenced her to skateboard. She participated in global competitions and won the 2019 French World Professional Tour Championship.
Because of her mother’s love for warm tropical countries, Hiraki is nicknamed “Coconut”.
Jason can be at info@nwasianweekly.com.
